Zola expecting more twists and turns

27 April 2013 06:47

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Gianfranco Zola hopes the unpredictability of this season's npower Championship continues on Saturday.

After keeping their automatic promotion challenge alive with a 2-1 win at Leicester to move within a point of second-placed Hull, Watford need relegation-threatened Barnsley to take something off the Tigers at Oakwell. That would take the race to join Cardiff in the Premier League down to the final day of the season, when Hull host the champions.

However, a victory for Steve Bruce's team against the Tykes would render Watford's home fixture with Leeds meaningless and leave Zola's men in the play-offs. "I think it will go down to the final day, I hope so," said Hornets boss Zola.

"In this league nothing is certain, it has been that way all season. Any team can beat any team - as we have seen. I'm sure it will go right down until the end, and it will be exciting. I will keep an eye (on the Hull game) but I will also try to relax, of course. We have done what we needed to do and now we have to hope that a good result will come from somewhere else."

Quickfire goals from Troy Deeney and Nathaniel Chalobah towards the end of the first half put Watford in control before Leicester substitute Harry Kane pulled a goal back for the hosts just after the hour mark.

Chalobah's bolt from the blue came just two minutes after Deeney's strike. Loose control from Almen Adbi saw the ball roll into the path of the on-loan Chelsea man who silenced the King Power Stadium with a rocket of a right-foot shot from 25 yards that hit the back of the net via the underside of the bar, leaving goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel stranded.

Zola said: "It was a great goal. Nathaniel is a player who has that in his locker. But apart from the goal his general performance was very good. All the players were very good - on both sides. I am very proud of my players. I think our performance in the first half was remarkable, and we also played a very good team."

Leicester remain seventh, a point outside the play-off places, and will see their hopes of a top-six finished extinguished if both Bolton and Crystal Palace win on Saturday. Foxes boss Nigel Pearson felt his players gave their all but, as they have so many times in recent weeks, they came up short.

"The two goals, at the time that they came, knocked us for six. It affected the players visibly," said Pearson. "And we could have conceded another one before half-time as well. The second goal was a quality strike and there wasn't a lot we could have done about that in all honesty.

"We had a go in the second half and it's just not happened for us again. We had to make a fist of it in the second half and I think we did. I think the players worked hard to try and get back into it but, again, it just didn't happen for us."